


Wrong Place, Wrong Time (Part 1)

by FizzyCustard



Series: Raymond de Merville x Reader [1]
Category: Pilgrimage (2017)
Genre: Angst, Explicit Sexual Content, F/M, Fluff, Marriage, Marriage Proposal, Masturbation, Murder, My Own Tumblr Series, Pregnancy, Smut, Time Travel, Violence, tumblr imagine
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-02
Updated: 2017-09-06
Packaged: 2018-12-23 00:33:39
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 12
Words: 12,469
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11978373
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FizzyCustard/pseuds/FizzyCustard
Summary: A series of imagine drabbles which have steadily built up into an oncoming fan fiction. You find yourself in 1209AD after a science experiment has gone wrong, and you are now making a new life in a small village in France. However, Sir Raymond de Merville has his eye on you and will not take no for an answer. You both embark on a passionate love affair which leads to Raymond's downfall.





	1. Drabble One

**Imagine Raymond being infatuated with you after becoming trapped in his time period**

 

 

 

The way he would watch you, those cold eyes and that leering smirk. Raymond de Merville may have been a nobleman of the village, but he had not, as of yet, shown you any nobility in his heart. All you felt you were was a piece of fresh meat dangling on a hook in front him and he was salivating like a hungry dog, intent on devouring you. But the most frightening underlying thing about this whole crazy and messed up situation was this: you liked it. You felt your stomach lift and shivers of anticipation race down your spine whenever he approached. 

Raymond was preparing for training that morning with his men. They had all been to the armoury, collecting their weapons of choice. They gathered on the training field, the warm sun high in the sky above the small French village. He could see you in the distance, tending to the horses of the main stables which were a part of the de Merville property. Raymond watched you for a few seconds, licking his lips and feeling that resolve inside himself rise. He would have you, one way or the other. You were unlike all the other women of the village, who were submissive, obedient and did not possess a fire in their belly like you. You were mysterious, appearing one day approximately six weeks ago, looking for shelter. A kind old man named Etienne had taken you in, and Raymond had first met you when he noticed you helping milk one of the dairy cows. At first he had taken your attitude towards him as impertinence and warned you to hold your tongue. But now he welcomed your quick wit responses, enjoying the thrill of the chase. Raymond de Merville was a man who always got what he wanted, taking it by force if necessary, and if he had to resort to that in order to get you, then he would. 

The afternoon seemed to pass by fairly quickly as you groomed all of the horses in the stables, and by the end of your working day, a fresh gleam of sweat was pouring down your brow. 

“Good afternoon,” a voice came. One of the knights had appeared at the stable door. You had spoken to him a few times before and he was always polite, a little shy and thanked you for your kindness. He was only a young man, not even twenty one by your reckoning as you studied his face. And this was probably why he was polite towards you; experience had not tainted his boyish innocence, turning him into an animal like a lot of the other men. 

“Hello, Henri,” you said, offering him a smile. “Can I get you anything?’ 

“Can you prepare my horse? We are to ride out at nightfall,” Henri asked, averting his gaze from you. You could tell there was something quivering on his tongue and his lips looked as though they were about to part and then closed again. 

“Is that all?” you asked. 

“Not quite,” Henri replied. “Lord de Merville is holding a feast tomorrow night, and I could not miss the opportunity to ask if you would attend with me.” 

Suddenly loud footfalls alerted you and there was a creak of the barn door. “She is but a serving girl. She is of no more use to you than that,” a deep voice came. Henri froze, and in those moments you could sense his terror. Raymond appeared around the door, approaching you both. 

In your fear for Henri and also your own anxiety, you continued preparing the young man’s horse, never making eye contact with Raymond. But you could still hear his low voice, whispering something to Henri. 

By the time the horse was prepared and Henri had thanked you, disappearing into the waning light, you turned on your heel to be faced with Raymond. “So I’m just a serving girl? That doesn’t stop _you_ sneaking around, does it?” you asked, raising an eyebrow. You knew that back answering Raymond could potentially lead to you facing physical harm or imprisonment. But you would not stand down from him; as a woman who had been born free in the twentieth century, you would not allow any man to possess or belittle you. You had always known through academic books and documentaries that history had not been kind to women. Unfortunately, your open minded and forthright attitude could potentially be your downfall. 

Raymond smirked at you. “That was but a warning to him. I do not take kindly to others sniffing around the prize which I have my sights set on.” His attitude was disgusting, but that deep voice, that accent, it made your insides curl. 

“I’m not a prize to be won, Raymond,” you shot back, looking him in the eye. He was a tall, broad built man who would easily cause you great harm, but something in your gut told you he would not resort to that. You had noticed that around you his behaviour changed; his cruelty ebbed slightly, although his powers of persuasion were still as strong. 

Raymond removed his leather glove and stepped towards you, his ice blue eyes still locked on yours. “You are such a wonderful prize,” he said softly, his hand reaching out. His fingertips brushed down your cheek. On instinct you closed your eyes and gasped. Then you heard him chuckle. “You act as if I am a revolting pig, but your reaction speaks different words.” 

You were literally frozen in place as he walked around you, studying you. Then, as he stood behind you, you felt his hand brush your hair away from your neck and ear. The warmth of his breath wafted across your skin and then you felt his lips. And you gasped again, clenching your fists as you tried your hardest to fight away the lust and attraction that this man was unlocking within you. His kiss became harder, hungrier and then his arm wrapped around your waist. 

“My Lord?” a voice came, breaking you away from the spell which had been cast. 

Raymond stood up straight, growled under his breath and glared at one of his knights who had come to check if he was ready for departure. That was the last you saw of Raymond that evening, and as he walked away, you brushed your hand down your cheek, drying away a tear you had never realised you’d shed. 


	2. Drabble Two

**Imagine Raymond's jealousy over someone else speaking to you and asking you to a feast**

 

 

You lay in bed that night, watching the shadows on the roof as they twisted into haunting shapes, and it reminded you of the shadows that lay within you. What on earth was causing you to be so attracted to Raymond? He was dangerous, callous, cruel and twisted. But you sensed something more to him whenever he was in your presence, and when he kissed your neck, a warmth spread outwards from him, wrapping around you. 

Your first instinct now was to run, as it always had been in the past. Whenever you faced an unknown feeling or circumstance, you ran, trying to outrun your fear and the unfamiliarity that faced you. All of your life back in your own time period and you had tried to outrun yourself. You had come from 2017, having been accidentally sent back to 1209AD when an experiment at the science facility you worked for went wrong. It was like a twisted joke; you had spent your whole life running, and now through accident you had wound up the furthest from home you had ever been, but tackling an instinct and aspect of yourself so big that it was crushing you. That aspect of yourself was your primal urges, your attraction to Raymond de Merville. If you were to act on those urges right then, it would have meant you getting up from your small bed and finding him, allowing him to take you, hard, possessing every inch of you and letting that arousal explode. The very thought of his hands on you and that broad, hard body around you made you squirm under the sheets. There was a pulsing between your legs, a sure sign that you wanted this man. And to make matters even worse, you knew he wanted you too. 

The next morning and you went about your daily routine of washing your body as best as you could, considering all you had was a bowl and water from the nearby well. Then you got dressed and said good morning to Etienne who was preparing breakfast. The kind old man who had initially took you in upon your arrival to the village was sat at his small table, turning pieces of sausage over in a pan which was on the fire. 

“You are needed in the dairy today,” Etienne told you. “Lord de Merville’s son was asking for you specifically.” 

“Oh? Why?” you asked, shifting in your seat and trying not to show that the words had affected you. 

“I would be careful around him,” Etienne warned. “I am aware that he has his eye on you, and he may be the Lord’s son, but that does not make him any the more honourable. That man is cruel. He does not like those he considers lesser men. You are a bold woman and deserve a man who would treat you with kindness and compassion. I do not think he has that in him.” 

You sighed and looked up at Etienne, somehow hoping he was wrong. “I think all people have the ability for kindness and love in them. Don’t assume he doesn’t have the capacity to love anyone, because I’m sure inside him he does.” 

“I have lived far more years than you,” Etienne chuckled. “I have seen many seasons pass me by and the lives of many taken by men like him. They very rarely change their ways. Once a cruel man, always a cruel man.” 

“I’ll be careful,” you told him, wanting to end the conversation. You got up from the table and began to head for the door. 

“Do you not wish to eat first?” Etienne asked. 

“I’m not hungry, but thank you. I’ll see you at nightfall.” 

Etienne’s words of wisdom resounded in your head as you made your way to the dairy barn. Why had Raymond asked for you to come here? He never had any dealings with the farm. On your way towards the farm you felt spots of rain begin to fall on you, becoming faster as the overcast skies opened. But you slowed down as you noticed Henri in the distance, limping badly. 

“Henri, are you alright?” you asked, calling out and rushing towards him. The rain was becoming heavier now, but you were concerned for the young man. 

“Leave me alone!” he shouted in terror, his eyes widening as he saw you. You looked down to see bandages wrapped thickly around his thigh, but blood was seeping through. 

“What happened?” you called, rushing past the blacksmith’s towards the young man. But Henri continued on, turning away and upping his pace the best he could. 

Suspicions rose in your mind. Had Raymond got something to do with this? Fear began to rise in you now; what exactly was Raymond up to? Had he been the cause of Henri’s injury, and why was he calling you into the dairy barn? 

You swallowed hard and approached the barn, pushing the door open with trepidation. Tears were welling in your eyes as you imagined the poor boy on the receiving even of Raymond’s wrath, and all for asking you to join him at a feast. 

“You received my message?” a voice came. 

As you turned in the direction of the voice you saw Raymond standing next to one of the cow stalls. He was smiling at you and stepped closer. 

“What did you do to Henri?” you asked. “He didn’t deserve to be hurt.” You began to cry, tears streaming down your cheeks. “He’s only a boy.” 

“Boy or not, he crossed a line and needed to be punished.” 

“Punished for what?!” you exclaimed loudly. Raymond continued stepping closer, looking down at you from his taller height. “He asked me to join him to a feast. It was hardly him taking me to bed. And anyway, I’m nothing to you. We’re not courting so I have every right to attend feasts with whoever I wish.” 

Raymond just smirked. “So ready to fight for the dog that cowers beneath the master’s table. You are naive.” His voice had grown cold. “Are you willing to always be of serving stock? Either obey or be obeyed, and I know that I would rather be obeyed.” 

“And as a woman I’d still be forced to obey you,” you spat. “I would never be my own person. You would always have me under your possession, and I’m not going to live my life like that. If you see me as a prize to be won, why did you think that injuring a poor boy like that would somehow send me flying into your arms? You don’t have much sense considering you see yourself as a master.” 

Raymond’s expression grew terrifying, as though he were about to part the skies and bring down ruin upon you. “You will know your place in this village, my lady,” Raymond hissed. “Do not get above yourself here.” 

“Are you threatening me?” you asked. You were terrified, shaking beneath the long dress and apron you wore, but you would stand defiant. “You don’t scare me.” 

“Oh, I think I do. I can see you quivering from here. You are terrified of not only what you think I may do to you, but allowing yourself to enjoy my company. I saw you last night, and you were begging for more.” Raymond grit his teeth and leaned in. “You want me to take you, and one day, oh, I will.” 


	3. Drabble Three

**Imagine the tension and frustration between you and Raymond rocketing. You are struggling to control it**

 

The rendezvous with Raymond that morning in the dairy barn played on your mind for the rest of the day; if you could even call it a rendezvous, seeing as he was the one who had ordered you to the dairy barn. You had not mutually agreed on the meeting. Escaping this man was going to be impossible, and the only chance you had of avoiding him was to run away from this village all together. But in your brief and limited knowledge of this time period, trying to leave on foot would render you open and vulnerable to the elements, wild animals and possibly far more dangerous men than Raymond. So far and he had not harmed you, but there was always a first time. 

That evening and Raymond’s father gathered his most trusted kin, friends and knights to a feast, of which Henri and you were both absent. Raymond sat next to his father, drinking wine and could not keep his mind off you. You plagued him constantly; when in training, eating, sleeping, and even _shitting_ , he could not stop thinking about. His loins were constantly red hot, frustrated and needing to scratch an itch that only you had the remedy to. 

Mindless banter and conversation wafted through the air, falling on deaf ears as Raymond left the table. His father protested, but he ignored it and continued walking out into the evening air. None of the maids and serving girls who were flitting around the house could break him from the spell that had descended on him. Under normal circumstances and if Raymond had his eye set on a woman, then he would have her. However, you were different. You fought back, protecting your own honour, and he somehow respected that. Women, to him, were something to be conquered and bedded, only there for sexual satisfaction and continuing the family blood line through offspring. But you intrigued him, having the attitude and drive that could easily match any man. 

Raymond walked under the stars, the gathering cold beginning to bite through his tunic. Not even realising and he had walked towards the dairy barn, re-tracing his steps from his encounter with you earlier. 

You were just finishing up milking the last cow, having stayed longer than your normal allotted time. Then again, in this time and place you had nothing else to do. It was all work and sleep. You had no access to your normal hobbies in this place, and working kept your mind busy and off your sad memories of the things and people you had left behind in the twenty first century. 

A presence lingered behind you and you turned around quickly on your heels, eyed wide at the form of Raymond behind you. It shocked you on one hand to see him, yet did not surprise you on the other. This man would not give up pursuing you. 

“Good evening, Raymond,” you said, trying to remain polite as you picked up the last bucket of milk from beneath the cow you had just been attending to. “I thought you would have been at the feast tonight.” You knew that by constantly back answering and questioning him, it would only invoke his anger. Pretending that the previous events had not fazed you was the best course of action. Showing constant fear towards him would only allow him more access to you, and you were not prepared to lower your barriers in such a way; you valued your integrity and pride. 

“I wished to seek out more interesting and visually pleasing company,” he replied, smiling at you. That normal leer seemed to have drained somewhat from his smile, leaving behind a very faint hint of warmth. Was it really a warmth you sensed? Did this man even have the capacity to be warm? 

“You won’t give up so easily, will you?” you asked, looking down at the bucket at your feet. Your stomach was fluttering again. That all too familiar sensation that only occurred when Raymond was close. 

“There is only so far I will go before I take something by force,” Raymond began, his eyes drifting down you carefully, and then resting on your lips. “But, you…”

“You mean rape women?” you snapped. Your anger was rising again at his attitude. “I’m a woman you can’t have so easily, so you’re resorting to your idea of sweet talk now in high hopes that I’ll just drop my underwear.” 

“Every woman I have bedded has given themselves to me by choice. I have never had to resort to force with any woman.” 

You chuckled wryly. “So no one can resist you? Talk about arrogance. Now I can see why you haven’t got a wife.” 

Raymond stepped towards you again. “And do not lie and tell me you are finding it difficult resisting temptation. I sense it all over you. As for taking a wife, that can soon be changed.” 

His gaze penetrated you, curling around you tightly, and warmth spread throughout your entire being, forcing fear away, although only for a brief few moments. The next thing you realised was Raymond’s lips against yours and his hands cupping your face. You could not deny that his kiss was hot, electric and caused something to snap in you. That instinct you had been so terrified of unleashing was finally loose. Your kiss deepened, and you could taste wine, until his lips left yours and delved down your neck and onto your chest. Words would not come as you gasped. He left a trail of red hot fire down you. 

His hand cupped your breast, teasing your nipple beneath the clothing. And you heard him growl. It was primal and animal-like. The growl drew a deep groan from you, followed by a word which you could not even fathom yourself. The word had become lost in translation from your brain to your lips as the arousal took you over. 

You didn’t even notice as Raymond pushed you against one of the wooden pillars. Your whole body was on fire and he continued on kissing you hungrily, his tongue gently licking against your skin, paired with the tickling of his stubble. 

But your rational mind began to make itself known and you opened your eyes, looking around and realising what was happening. “Raymond, stop!” you called out. “Please…” you begged. But he continued on kissing you, lapping at your breasts like an animal. “STOP!” you demanded, shoving him away. 

Raymond glared at you, his eyebrows lowered and his eyes cold. “Do _not_ deny that you enjoyed that!” he snarled. You were both panting, and you could feel the heat burning your cheeks and chest. 

Without another word you raced out of the barn, not even caring if he followed you, or worse, tried to hurt you. 


	4. Drabble Four

**Imagine Raymond not being able to sleep because of his sheer want of you**

 

 

Raymond grit his teeth with frustration and writhed beneath the bed sheets. His whole body was on fire and his loins were throbbing. The thought of you was causing the lust to rage out of control, mounting to an insufferable plateau. He growled and wrapped his hand around his manhood, rock hard and pulsing with the desire to be inside you. The images of taking you flashed through his mind, vivid and so utterly delectable. “I will have you…” he whispered to himself, his hips jolting off the bed with the movements. His hand kept up a rhythm, becoming impatient as he came closer to his climax and his breaths became pants. “You will be mine…” And with those words, one final wave erupted over his entire body and he shuddered, exhaling loudly as all the pent up frustration left him and he came. 

For a few moments he lay still, panting, sweat glistening over his face and naked chest. But still the act of temporarily relieving that itch, did not take away his ultimate want of you. Your fight, your forthright attitude and the pride you had over your own place in this world as a woman was bending his will to conquer you, and instead he wanted to seduce you; to be the man you screamed out for in your darkest hour. He wanted to hear you groan his name as you came, wrapped around him and _need_ him beside you. Would a woman as beautiful and proud as you ever feel that way for someone like Raymond de Merville? 

He thought on the way you had run from the barn that morning, and as you had raced away, Raymond had felt a sliver of guilt for his words. Forcing you into any kind of situation would not ease the need for you, instead it would make it worse. Raymond wanted you to come to him by choice. In the darkness that night, after relieving himself, he began to dream of you gladly giving yourself to him, _all_ of you. He could envision you begging him to take you, straddling him, wanting him to put a baby in your belly. 

The majority of the next day passed by and eventually Raymond noticed that he had not seen you. Normally he would have at the very least seen you by early afternoon. Your duties in the village normally consisted of caring for the animals in some capacity; you mainly kept watch of the horses in the stables and milked the cows. Sometimes you had helped shear the wool from the sheep in the field behind the blacksmiths. But by early evening, you were nowhere to be seen and Raymond began to feel concern creep in. Was it a concern for your safety or a concern for his own need to see you? He didn’t quite know. 

Etienne was sat preparing supper that evening when he heard a loud knocking at his door. The elderly man limped over to the door, his limp acting as a constant reminder of battle years ago. “My Lord. How many I help?” he asked, looking up at Raymond whose imposing figure stood the other side of his door. 

“Where is she?” Raymond asked, glaring at the old man. 

“Who?”

“Do not act as senile as you look, old man. You know who I refer to. The serving woman who lives with you. Where is she?” 

“She is to return for supper, My Lord. She left this morning just before dawn as usual, a bag in hand.” 

“What kind of bag?” Raymond asked, interrogating Etienne. 

“I did not take much notice of it. Supplies for her day’s work, I assumed.” 

Raymond immediately knew that something was amiss as he had not seen you at all, and you never appeared for your duties with a bag. Everything you needed for the day was in the stables or dairy barn, and the local farmer who owned the livestock fed you each day, giving you lunch at noon. 

There was only one way out of the village and that was through the forest which was either side of the small river which ran through the centre of the village. Raymond prepared his horse and disappeared into the gathering dusk, fear spreading through him for the first time in many years. The last time he had known fear was when his mother had not returned home one night when he was only a boy; the last memory he had of her was being carried back to his family home, wrapped in a burial shroud after she had been brutally murdered by a group of merchants whom his father had owed money to. 


	5. Drabble Five

**Imagine Raymond rescuing you from a band out outlaws**

 

 

You shivered in terror and as the cold bore down into you, penetrating right into your bones. The rope around your wrists was cutting into your flesh, burning your skin the more you tried to pull. You could feel the steady trickle of blood down your face from where one of the outlaws had caught you off guard, knocking you unconscious with the blunt end of a spear. You had woken to find yourself bound and positioned against a tree. A short distance from you and you could just make out two men sat around an open fire, their evil laughter filling the air. They were speaking French of which you didn’t understand. Every now and again they would throw a glance at you and laugh again, obviously discussing your fate. 

It was raw that night, colder than the night previously of which you had slept in an old, abandoned house. You had always known that this would always be a risk, of being caught by undesirable men on the road, if you left the village behind. But the very thought of being in close proximity of Raymond constantly, the fear of your own instinctual needs and of his bearing down on you. That intense fear had been your main driving force here. Back in your home in the twenty first century and you had always been a loner, preferring to keep your own company and rely on your own judgements. It was rare for you to trust anyone implicitly, although you did put yourself out for people who showed you kindness. Years of bullying as a child had scarred you, pulling you inside yourself. And because of this you had only had one long term relationship which lasted almost a decade. Breaking from that had tossed you into unfamiliar territory and your walls had been built even higher. 

You drifted in and out of consciousness that night, seeing shadows swirling around you, strange shapes stirring in the undergrowth and the leering faces of the men who had captured you. 

Suddenly you heard shouts on the air, shouts of warning and of pain. But the cold of the atmosphere was holding you back from being completely alert. You continued to drift again, swaying backwards until you felt an arm catch you. A familiar voice spoke to you, saying your name softly. Was it really him? If this was to be your last moment conscious, why was your mind conjuring Raymond? 

Raymond looked down at you as he held your freezing cold, shivering body in his arms. Then he lifted you, holding you against the warmth of his chest and stepped around the two dead bodies towards his horse. 

The ride back to the village only took a couple of hours as Raymond held onto you in the front of his saddle. He had taken off his cloak and wrapped it around your head and shoulders, fighting against the bitter cold. Snow was now beginning to drift on the air. 

You woke two days later in an unknown room, noticing that it was furnished with a wooden chair and table, a full length dress mirror and clothes chest at the end of the four poster bed. Warmth seemed to have suspended you comfortably and you shifted upwards, resting against the plumped pillows behind you. You had a sneaky suspicion of where you were: the de Merville estate. 

“Good morning, miss,” a kind maid chirped as she stepped inside, bringing you a tray of freshly cooked food. “I shall tell Sir Raymond you are awake as he has been asking about you.”

“Raymond?” you asked, raising an eyebrow. 

“Yes. He was the one who brought you in to us. He demanded you stay here rather than go back to the elderly gentleman you share your home with,’ the maid replied. 

The very thought that Raymond had been the one to rescue you from the two thieves who had been out on the road caused a shifting in your stomach, turning you off any kind of food even though you were famished. 

Within a few minutes and Raymond appeared in the doorway, stepping into the room. He looked at you with a mixture of relief and questioning on his face. “You have much explaining to do,” he said, sitting down in the seat beside you. 

“You know why I ran, Raymond,” you shot back. “Don’t pretend you don’t.”

“And believe me, the end you would have met out on the road with those men is far worse than what you would have had here with me.”

That familiar fire hit you in the very pit of your stomach again and you looked up at him, meeting his icy gaze. He never failed to have that effect on you. “And what would my fate be here with you?” you asked, the words slipping off your lips without your rational mind leading them. Your control was snapping. 

“A fate I would hope you would enjoy immensely,” he replied, his voice growing low with lust. A sly smile began to wake on his face. 

You reached over and gently touched his hand. He looked up at you and then down at your hand in disbelief. Were you really touching him as a result of your own will? 

“Thank you,” you whispered, your fingers caressing his. 

The fierce side of Raymond began to rise as his eyes were set with an irritation. “No one will harm you again. I swear it.” 


	6. Drabble Six

**Imagine Raymond watching over you while you're ill**

 

 

Snow flurries came and went over the next few days, a sure sign that a storm was approaching. The weather had all of a sudden taken a turn for the worst, with temperatures plummeting to minus figures overnight. You remained in bed, listening to the gathering wind outside as it whined against the walls of the house. A fever had taken hold of you and you would sweat uncontrollably, shaking under the covers. You felt as if you could not get warm enough, yet your skin was red hot to the touch. 

Maids flitted in and out, bringing you hot drinks and food. But all you wanted was water and would turn everything else away. In between sleeping and drinking you would try and sit up, feeling nausea and dizziness over take you as you tried to look out the window opposite your bed. Your dreams were always a mangled mess of past times which you had lived in the world’s future; you saw images of your work place, the science lab where you had disappeared from. You could still see the flash of light and the shouts of one of the main scientists, demanding the machine be shut down, but it was too late. You knew in your heart that that was the last anyone of the twenty first century would see of you. Were you the only one to be sent into the past? Or had other people been sent scattered all across time? Why 1209? What was so significant about this time and place. 

Between your dreams and deep sleep, you saw flashes of Raymond and would hear his voice. That baritone voice would spread through you, melting so deliciously within. Even in the midst of a high fever, he still made you quiver for him. 

One morning, when your fever had begun to subside, you sat up in bed, groaning as you felt the dizziness become stronger. A maid dashed to you, helping you up. You thanked her, nodding your head to her. She was such a pretty young girl, her long, gold hair cascading down her back. The sight of her made you wonder why Raymond wanted you so badly and not this more beautiful girl. Maybe now he could set his sights elsewhere. However, he soon made you aware that this would not be the case. 

Raymond came to see you that morning, only looking at the maid once and then locked his sight on you, not letting it go. You were plain in comparison to that girl and it made you hang your head in shame as Raymond sat beside you. He noticed your actions. “You look as if something bothers you. And, does it?” Raymond asked, raising an eyebrow. 

Then the maid re-appeared, holding a tray of food and came towards you. You looked at the beautiful girl and then at Raymond, who was still watching you and then you looked back at he girl. 

When the maid had disappeared back downstairs, Raymond spoke again. “This has something to do with the serving girl. Correct?” he asked. That accent sent pleasurable shivers down your spine; you wanted him to be speaking sweet seduction in your ears with that accent. 

“You never paid any attention to her,” you said, feeling embarrassed by your oncoming admissions. 

“And why would I?” Raymond inquired. 

“Maybe because she’s more beautiful than I am,” you replied childishly. Having always been overshadowed by other women, cast into the darkness that their beauty radiated, you wanted Raymond to only want you. 

“She is….attractive, granted, but you do not see your own beauty,” Raymond replied. His eyes were growing heavy with lust again and the way he gazed at you was enough to send you overboard in your frustrations and throw yourself at him, giving your whole soul to him. “Why do you live in comparison of others? I once heard someone say: beauty is in the eye of the beholder.” Raymond moved from the seat next to your bed and sat beside you, turning his upper body towards you. Having him so close made you begin to feel that self control slip away. “This beholder sees you as the most beautiful creature made by God’s hands.” 

You moved closer to him, hearing him sigh as your heads were put an inch apart. His eyes moved down your face, and his hand slipped up your cheek and around your head, his fingers lacing in your hair. “Give yourself to me,” he whispered to you, his ice blue eyes burning into yours. 

Your lips met and you began to forget what you had previously been discussing. You wanted this man; you wanted to give your heart to him, your body and everything you had to offer. But a sliver of apprehension was still pulling you back, chaining you to doubt. 

The kiss became deeper, until you were panting and moaning in each other’s arms, needing more. You whispered his name in his ear and heard him growl in response. Then your hand trailed down his stomach, brushing over the fabric of his tunic. Lower and lower. And then you felt his arousal for you, burning and throbbing in his breeches. 

“Oh!” a gasp came. The maid had re-appeared and was standing in the doorway. 

Angrily, Raymond got up from the bed, glared at the girl and slammed the door in her face. 


	7. Drabble Seven

** Imagine you and Raymond fall deeper in love and finally give yourself to each other **

 

 

You pined for Raymond when he was not near you, and whilst going about your duties, your mind would begin to wonder to a place where he was master of you. Your bodies would be merged, his breath hot against your skin, his mouth suckling your breasts and his hands grabbing you, slipping in you, caressing you. Your whole body was craving him, going insane. It had been a couple of weeks now since you had returned to duties after your stay in bed. Each day meant crossing paths with Raymond, and whenever you did, the tension lingered, so thick and heavy. He would constantly watch you from across rooms, his eyes dark with his want of you. Sometimes he would come to the barn or stables when everyone else had disappeared for the day and he would stand behind you, his hands slipping around your waist. But you always kept him from going that one step too far and taking you completely. 

It amazed you to think that a man who was the son of a Lord, and who had access to dozens of women in the village, could not pull himself from you. And the more you kept him at bay, the more you realised how true his want of you was. The roughness of him which he had shown up until he rescued you in the forest had now disappeared; the forceful nature of Raymond de Merville around you had gone. Instead he had become unrelenting and was not going to give up so easily. 

One afternoon you were in the stables, just shutting one of the paddocks when the all too familiar scent and sound of Raymond became known. He stood behind you, his arms curling around you and his hands settling on yours which were on the wooden railings guarding the horse inside. “How long will we have to keep this up?” he whispered, drawing in the smell of you. He kissed your cheek softly. “I am going crazy for you,” he said again. 

You turned around in his arms and looked up at him, and you smiled. “It’ll be all the more worth it when it does happen.” You reached forward and put your hand against his chest. “And when it does happen…I like to think that I’m more to you than just a bedded conquest and you’ll venture elsewhere for someone else. A new pursuit.” 

Raymond furrowed his eyebrows in sadness. “What little heart that I have left, it is yours,” he replied. A vulnerability and a sensitivity lingered in his eyes as he spoke those words. “Why do you think I followed you when you left the village, and all this time have done nothing but honour you in your wish that we do not yet share a bed.” 

You lay in your bed that night, thinking on those words that Raymond had spoken. He loved you. There was no denying that fact or trying to analyse it differently; the man loved you. And you loved him. Never a day passed when you did not think of him, yearn for him and need him. 

Your dam broke. At just after midnight, you wrapped a cloak around your shoulders and exited your home with Etienne. You could hear faint laughing in the distance as a couple of the knights went about their normal routine of guarding the village from possible invaders. It was still bitterly cold and you shivered against the flurry of snow which was falling, and you walked slowly, hoping no one would hear the crunching of snow underfoot. 

Some of your recent duties had involved serving the people of the de Merville estate. This had been arranged by Raymond, mainly so he had an excuse to see you. So you made your way up the winding pathway just off the main field where the knights trained and where the stables were situated. You now knew the basic layout of the building; Raymond’s room was on the second floor in the back right hand corner of the house. 

Raymond felt something soft and warm against him as he opened his eyes, batting his eyes against the darkness of the room. He then turned to see your beautiful face next to his on the pillow. You were smiling. You never said anything as you kissed him, your hands cupping his face and you moved over him. 

From that moment the lust won out completely and you both groaned against each other as your kiss deepened. Raymond’s hands delved under your clothing, becoming impatient for more. You heard the rip of your nightdress as he pulled it from you, needing to feel your skin against his. His mouth began suckling your breasts, his tongue teasing around your nipples and lapping at your newly exposed flesh. 

“I need to hear you say it,” he grunted, panting. “Tell me to take you, plead with me.” 

The heat was becoming too much and the pulsing between your legs was so intense that you felt you were about to come there and then, locked in his arms. You straddled him, feeling his erection rub against you. As you both rubbed together, he groaned loudly, arching his back. “Say it!” he hissed. 

A moan erupted from your chest, winding upwards. “Take me, please,” you begged. 

Raymond flew upwards towards you, grabbed you and pulled you around so he was behind you; his strength caught you off guard, but it all pushed you so much closer to the edge. He was panting at your ear, his sweat mixing with yours. His hands tugged your hips towards him. “Your wish will be granted…my love,” he whispered. Then you felt him, thick and hard, enter you. He moaned loudly, a deep, baritone moan. Another fierce wave hit you hard, winding down your legs. 

You pounded back and forth, groaning, sweating and shuddering against each other. He kept on hitting your sweet spot, again and again bringing you further forward, drawing the frustration out so it rose and rose…until it exploded. You came, shuddering around him and calling out into the darkness of the room, mixing cries of pleasure with his name. 

Then as you fell away from your plateau, Raymond spilled deep inside you, pushing in hard one last time. Your warmth milked him completely, until he was spent and his moans became pants. 

You both fell down to the bed and you lay next to him, the trickle of his seed between your thighs. You looked at him as you rolled over, and smiled. Raymond rose up over you, his hand brushing through your hair. Then he kissed you again, before proceeding to carry on your sweet love making way into the night. 


	8. Drabble Eight

**Imagine Raymond asking for your hand in marriage**

 

 

Since you had made love to Raymond for the first time your flood gates had opened. Considering that you had only been with one other man prior, and did not have much in the way of sexual experience, you knew that sex could not be any better than what it was with Raymond. He was dominating, passionate and intense, touching every inch of you, kissing as much of you as was humanly possible and lapping on your sweetness. Some nights you would come multiple times, both of you falling into a sweaty pile of limbs on the bed. On a few occasions he had even taken you in the barn and in the kitchens of the main de Merville estate. Anytime and anywhere. It did not matter because you were constantly alight for this man. 

One afternoon and Raymond had you sat on a bale of hay, you legs open wide and was teasing his tongue inside you. Your hand wrapped in his short hair and you called out into the air, not able to contain your ecstasy. His hands were holding your legs apart. 

“What if someone finds us?” you groaned. 

“Fuck them!” Raymond hissed as he temporarily pulled himself from the task at hand; his eyes were burning into yours as he looked up. “Let them watch!” 

Then he dug his tongue back into you, his hands gripping your thighs, until he took his one hand away and shoved it into his breeches and began pleasuring himself at the same time. The sound of him groaning and panting against you made the waves become more fierce, until finally you toppled over the edge. 

Raymond felt your muscles contracting and your cries caused an explosion within him, and he came over the floor in a series of small gushes. 

You were both spent, drained and in need of rest. But before you untangled yourselves, Raymond moved forward and kissed you, his hand brushing through your hair. And then he looked into your eyes, a warm smile devouring the lust which had only moments ago been part of his expression. “My love, will you allow me to take your hand? I wish to marry you,” he said softly, that accent still making your insides curl and squirm. 

The seriousness of such a question shocked you, and you felt yourself begin to shake. “Marriage?” you asked, feeling stupid. You had heard him correctly, but your brain had not quite processed the question. “Raymond, we’ve only been together for the last six weeks or so. Courting, or whatever you wish to call it.”

You had already resigned yourself to the sad fact that you would probably never see the twenty first century again, and France was now your home in this dark and depressing period in time. Raymond had become your source of light, even though he was a figure whom many feared. But the last thing you ever felt when in his presence now was fear. He had asked about where you came from when you had lain in bed after lovemaking and you began to tell him, but decided to leave the story until another time when he may be better to understand. 

You saw the sadness in his eyes, the rejection. “Raymond,” you began, pulling your clothing back into place and moving towards him as he moved back on his knees before you. “I love you,” you said again, looking into those blue depths that you had come to adore. “I’ve never felt this way about anyone else before, and it scares me. Where I come from…”

“I understand,” Raymond growled. “Your customs are not the same. How they differ I do not know, and quite frankly, do not care.” He got up from the ground and stood to his full height. 

“Please, listen to me,” you begged. 

“I do not need to hear any more. I should have known that your only desire is for me to fuck you senseless.” Anger rose in his voice now. 

“No, that’s not it!” you shouted. You jumped up from the hay and stood up straight, still considerably shorter than him. “You terrified me when we first met, and how I managed to change your attitude towards me I don’t know…but you have no idea how you make me feel.” 

“I have a very good idea, and it only consists of screaming my name in the depths of the night when your lust has become too much to bear! I will not allow you to make me a fool!” 

“I am not making you a fool. Just listen!” 

Raymond never said another word and stormed out of the barn, kicking the door open. He disappeared into the white covered grounds of the village as snow still fell. You sat back down on the bale of hay and wept. 


	9. Drabble Nine

** Imagine marrying Raymond in a secret ceremony **

 

 

 

Your heart was breaking as Raymond purposefully tried his best to keep out of sight of you. You sincerely loved this man and would cry yourself to sleep on the nights you were without him. Etienne, however, knew that something was amiss. “Come and talk to me about what bothers you,” he said one morning, holding out his hand to take your arm and sit you down by the fire. “I lost my family many years ago, and you have become like a daughter to me. The least I can do as a father figure is listen to what is upsetting you.” 

Etienne was not a stupid man, not by any means. He had noticed your behaviour the last six weeks; you were hardly ever at home and would work longer hours, and sometimes he would hear you sneak out of the small house when it was close on midnight. His instinct told him that this was all connected with Raymond de Merville. Ever since he had asked for you personally to the barn and then you had been rescued by him from the outlaws, and his concern for your disappearance, Etienne knew that there was something going on beneath the surface. Every small thing about this whole issue pointed to one person and that was Raymond.

You sat at the table and picked at the breakfast he had prepared for you, swallowing hard over the dryness in your throat. Then you coughed, preparing yourself for your explanation. “Raymond asked me to marry him,” you said, the words sounding so alien and feeling abnormal as they left you. 

“And I am guessing you do not wish to do so,” Etienne replied, looking at you. His face, already holding lines which told stories of the many years he had lived, crinkled in concern for you. “Do not allow him to corner you. That man is cruel. I have watched him grow over the years, becoming more cold with each season. The passing of his mother seemed to start the process of hardening his heart.” 

“What happened to his mother?” you asked, leaning across the table. “He’s never told me about her.” 

Etienne sighed. “She was such a kind woman, offering her service to anyone who needed it, and she never positioned herself above anyone else. All others to her were equals. But Lord de Merville owed money, quite a fortune, and because he could not pay his debt, his wife was murdered. Young Raymond was never the same again. He trained day and night, always obeying his father, but there was a coldness in his eyes from then on. All love had gone from him.” 

“It hasn’t gone, Etienne,” you said. “Behind all of that cold and anger, there’s a man who wants to be loved and wanted. And _I_ love him.” 

Etienne sighed. “You cannot control what your heart wants, dearest. I would keep on telling you until my last breath to stay away from the man, but I know that you will make the choice that is right for you. Let your heart guide you; I cannot stop you.” 

“Where I’m from and marriage is something that you build up to over many months and even years. Loving Raymond scares me as I’ve never felt like this before. And he thinks I’m rejecting him because I don’t love him.”

To make matters even worse still, the following night and you were called to the de Merville estate to help out with serving duties. Lord de Merville had honoured guests visiting his property, including Lords from neighbouring villages whom he had not had contact with in decades. 

Before you left for the feast that night at the estate, you took the gold ring from your right middle finger and looked at it. It was a band your parents had brought you on your sixteenth birthday. It was a simple, slim gold band with the word ‘always’ inscribed into the metal on the inside of the band. You missed your parents terribly every day, especially your mother, and it reminded you of the words Etienne had spoke about Raymond’s mother. You took a cord from Etienne’s work bench and tied the ends, with the ring dangling from it and slipped it into your apron pocket. 

The first stop of the evening was the kitchen; maids were dashing around, grabbing trays, jugs and tumblers. You took a deep breath and began grabbing jugs of wine and followed the other maids out into the main hall of the house. You spotted Lucille, the maid who had been at your bedside with Raymond when you were ill, and she smiled to you, nodding her head. She had become a friend of sorts, helping you carry the milk from the barn to the house some afternoons when you couldn’t manage yourself. And whenever you looked at her, you still wondered why Raymond wanted you and not this beautiful girl. She had flawless, pale skin, which made her blue eyes sparkle even more intensely, and her blonde hair fell in thick waves down her back. 

Laughter echoed through the hall as you walked inside; lined down the huge table in the centre of the room were dozens of men, all clad in their best tunics or armour. They were discussing old war conquests and about to raise tankards to their kin who could not be present. Breath caught in your throat as you saw his eyes focus on you. At the head of the table, furthest from you was Raymond. He watched you for a few seconds and then looked down, his expression becoming one of frustration. 

You needed to speak with him and urgently. But you carried out your duties for a short while, serving wine and ale to the men sat around the table. A couple of the men tried to grab you, but Raymond stared at them and then got up, calling you over to him and took you out of the hall and into a small side room which was empty. “This is no place for you. I will not have others leer and touch you,” Raymond said, his eyes unable to lock on yours. “I wish father had not summoned you here. Go now.” 

“I need to talk to you, Raymond,” you whispered. You felt into your pocket, fingering the gold band and then slid it out of your apron. You took Raymond's hand and placed the ring and cord in his palm. “Meet me in your room. About twenty minutes.” 

Raymond didn’t even have to question why you had placed the ring in his hand. He cupped your cheek and kissed you. Your tongues met for a short while and as you both began to become breathless, he pulled away. “I shall come to you shortly, my love. Now go,” he whispered next to your ear. 

You slipped away out of the main hall and took the back entry way up to the upper levels and dashed into Raymond’s room. Thankfully everyone had been called down to the main hall so the upper rooms were empty. You didn’t have to wait long before the door opened and Raymond stepped inside. He dashed at you, winding his arms around you and you completely sank into each other. You kissed hard and fell to the bed, disrobing each other. 

In the dark of the room, you made love, accepting his proposal gladly. As Raymond came, he kissed you again, whispering, “My wife.” Then he lay beside you. 

        ************************************

The days that came after you accepted the proposal and you remained with Raymond each night, until suddenly he grabbed your hand one evening, grinning. “Tonight. Let’s make it tonight,” he beamed. You had been discussing your marriage constantly and the possibility of one day having children. No one knew of your plans of marriage, apart from Etienne. Raymond had purposefully not told his father of the relationship and impending marriage because he knew that you would not be accepted into the family. You were not of the nobility and standing of the kind of people which Lord de Merville wanted his son to be married to. He wanted the money to flow freely between the families, and for the match to be what he considered ‘Godly’. Your passion and love shared with Raymond had been nothing but delectable sin from the start and sheer decadence. “Wrap up warm, my love.”

In fact, unbeknownst to you, Raymond had called upon one of the village priests to be present at the ceremony that very evening. He took your hand and guided you out of the room, chuckling. You had never seen him so happy. 

“Where are we going?” you asked. But he never answered and you raced together into the small wood just south of the estate, coming to a small stream and there, standing alone, was one of the priests. 

Your heart began hammering in your chest, thundering in your ears and throat. A tear slid down your cheek at the prospect of what was happening. You were getting married, but more than that, you were giving your life to the man you had fallen so deeply in love with. Raymond kept your hand tightly in his as he approached the priest and spoke to him in French, a language which was still quite unknown to you. In the time you had been in the village and you had picked up a few phrases, but most of the people spoke English. 

The priest, a middle aged, balding man, looked at you, and lowered his head in acknowledgement and respect. 

Suddenly another voice came. “I hope I am not late.” You recognised the voice immediately. 

“Etienne!” you called out and raced to the old man who appeared from behind a tree. You embraced him tightly. 

“It is my understanding that in your custom you must have your father give you away. And seeing as your father is not able, I was hoping you would allow me to instead,” Etienne replied, his eyes filling with tears. “I was never able to see my own daughter be married, so letting me do this will make me a very happy man.”

You cried against Etienne, both of you spilling tears of absolute joy.  And then, with a gentle nod, Etienne took your hand and placed it in Raymond’s. 

Under the stars that night, with the cold air whipping around you, you gave your life over to Raymond de Merville in the ever watchful presence of God. 


	10. Drabble Ten

** Imagine that after your wedding Raymond's father will not accept you **

 

 

For three whole days after your wedding and you stayed alongside Raymond, not going for your duties. Instead you made love to your husband, discussed the future and watched the world carry on moving around you. At first you had questioned if your presence at the estate would be noticed but Raymond reassured you that who he had in his bed chamber was his business and no one questioned him. 

But your sweet bliss was about to be shaken. Raymond was summoned to his father’s meeting room one week after you had wed and you had gone back to your home with Etienne. Your plan was now to move with Raymond into your new home which was the other side of the village to his main family estate. But his father was not having it, having gotten wind of your secret movements and plans. 

Raymond stood before his father, noticing how frail he was looking. His father coughed, showing a sign of his decline in health. “I received word from one of your men that you have taken a wife,” his father said. “Is this true?” 

“Yes,” Raymond replied, standing proud. “We wed seven nights past. And I plan to move from the estate and into the smaller house the other side of the village.” 

His father sighed and rolled his eyes. “Do not tell me it is the strange serving girl who appeared in our village nearly a season ago. I am well aware that you have had your sights set on her. But I will not approve of such courtship!” 

Raymond glared at his father. “We are beyond courtship, father. She is my _wife_.”

“Do not expect me to call her my family, Raymond, as she is not. Our family lineage should continue on through nobility and be prosperous. What will she bring us? She is of no value.” 

“She is of great value to me!” Raymond shouted. 

“Do not tell me you _love_ this woman?! I will have that house torn down before you move her into it. I will not see my son lower himself, breeding with the dirt of society.” 

Raymond’s anger hit full pelt and he grit his teeth at his father, fuming. “You sit there and hide behind your god, putting on your mask of being a nobleman when it suits you. But that need to be seen as something more than just a humble man lost your wife, my _mother_! And now you expect me to listen to your belittling words against my wife, the woman I love, and the woman I wish to bear my children! Your god will forsake you, old man.” Raymond spat at his father’s feet. “You are but my father in name; may any blood ties with you be broken from this day forth!” 

“How dare you!” his father roared. “Your marriage to this harlot will be dissolved. If she passes my door again, I will have her flogged in the street.” 

Raymond lunged at his father, his eyes wide and his teeth bared like an animal. “My vow to her will remain true until the day I leave this world, and if that means dying to honour that vow, then so be it.” 

You were in the dairy barn late again, milking the last cow who was a last minute addition to the herd. Sweat dripped down your brow as you moved the bucket of milk aside and pushed your stool away. As you stood up, you felt arms wrap around your middle. You closed your eyes, feeling the strong embrace of your husband and then his lips caressing your neck. 

“Would you like me to come to you again tonight?” you asked him. The last couple of nights and you had been apart whilst preparations for your new home had been underway, but now those preparations were being soured by Raymond’s father. 

“I do not care. I just wish to leave this place with you,” he said softly. 

You turned on your heels, feeling concern for him as he spoke. “What’s wrong?” you asked. You brushed your hand down his stubbled cheek and kissed his lips. “My love? Talk to me.” 

“My father knows about our marriage, and as I suspected, does not approve of it. To him, my marriage should be to a nobleman’s daughter, not the woman who has my heart. I will not let him force us apart. I will not.” The frustration in Raymond’s eyes grew and he shook his head. “I wish to take you away from all of this, and we can find our own home…”

              *********************************

Your marriage should have been full of joy, preparation for the future and peace, but instead you and Raymond were forced to move by night, only seeing each other when the sun had set and you met at your rendezvous point in the dairy barn. The strain of not being beside Raymond as you should have been was beginning to wear you thin; you needed to be with your husband, to cherish him and support him. But instead you were treated like a criminal in your love for him. 

Raymond’s want to leave the village for good with you seemed to have waned, and you asked why. In response he looked down at the ground, saddened at what he was about to tell you. “My father has threatened to kill you if we are seen together, or if we try to leave.” As Raymond spoke, however, disgust and rage began to show on his face. “We _will_ be together. If I have to offer him a chalice of poison personally and watch him take his last breath in front of me, I will do it. He will _pay_ for all of this. I will make sure he meets his end, my love, and we will be free of this. He will not hold this over your head.”

You put your head on Raymond’s chest and sighed. He kissed your hair. “I love you,” you whispered, feeling tears trickle down your cheeks. If loving this man was a crime, then it was one you would gladly confess to and face execution for. 


	11. Drabble Eleven

** Imagine Raymond is sent away by his father **

 

 

For a further few weeks, you and Raymond kept to your meeting place, the dairy barn. Each night you would make love, feeling the passion of your forbidden love rise. Raymond’s father had been pushing to dissolve your marriage, but he used this to his advantage, it becoming leverage to push his son into going on one last quest in their family name. “Raymond, you go on one last mission for me, and I will not see your marriage dissolved,” the old man had said, drawing a growl from Raymond. 

“Whether I go or not, my marriage to her still stands,” Raymond hissed. 

Then, finally, Raymond’s father had had enough of trying to make his son see sense. “If you do not go, I shall have her killed. If we go, then I shall spare her.”

Raymond knew that if his father made a threat then it was incredibly rare that he did not follow through on it. If he did not go to meet up with the travelling Irish monks on the road who were carrying a sacred relic, then you, his world, would be killed. And there was no way that Raymond could risk you, especially when you gave him news that evening. 

“I think I’m pregnant,” you said softly, smiling. 

Raymond swept you into a kiss, his hands brushing through your hair. “My love, I swear that after this last quest with my father then I shall remain by your side; we shall move from this god forsaken village, and I will bleed my father dry of everything. No one threatens you and my unborn child.” 

“Make sure you come back to us,” you told Raymond, kissing the ring you had given him which was around his neck on a cord. 

Raymond fell to his knees and lifted your dress, kissing your stomach. “I will return to you both, my love.” 

The next morning would be when Raymond left, so you made sure you savoured each other in the barn that night. You made love way past the midnight hour, your cries falling onto empty air. Both of you fell asleep in the hay, wrapped together with your clothes over you for warmth. 

                      *************************************

For the next few weeks that you were without Raymond, whilst he was travelling, you exchanged letters via pigeon. Every other morning and the same pigeon would come to the barn, dropping a small piece of parchment into your hand. Raymond would declare his love to you and your unborn child in each letter, swearing that his quest would uphold your honour and your vows as husband and wife. 

Each letter you kept in a small wooden box which Etienne had given you as a wedding gift, a box which he had made himself, carved with roses coming into bloom. 

But, suddenly, the letters from Raymond stopped. 


	12. Drabble Twelve

** Imagine seeking revenge for Raymond's death **

 

 

Your Raymond was dead. He had died staying true to his word and honouring you through betraying his father, trying to bring the bastard down and take away what he truly cared about. Upon hearing the news and you had fallen to your knees, weeping. Then you stormed out of the barn where you were working, kicking open the door and screaming into the open air. 

Raymond’s body was brought back to the village, wrapped in a burial shroud. You kissed the fabric, your tears falling onto him. In a fold of the fabric, where you kissed, your lips touched something cold. You opened the cloth, and there across his chest, protruding from a hole in his leather gauntlet was an arrow. The sun shone down on the weapon, and on the very edge of the curled, modified shaft, you could see a small droplet of blood. 

From the very day that your beloved Raymond was buried, you vowed to avenge his death. Firstly, you took his sword from his body along with the arrow, and watched in secret from behind a tree as his body was placed into the ground. His bastard of a father stood before his son’s body, his arms crossed. 

He would be first. 

Revenge was coursing through your body, filling your blood so it was red hot. Raymond’s death would not be in vain; you would make sure that every man who was responsible for your husband’s passing would feel pain, excruciating and raw. 

The night of Raymond’s funeral and you gagged his father after sneaking into the back entrance of the house. The old man squirmed on the bed beneath you after being woken by your knees pressing into his chest. You held a dagger above the man’s body and drove it slowly downward into his chest, hearing him scream around the gag. Something dark overtook you and a sly smirk crept onto your lips as you watched the bastard die slowly, choking miserably on his own blood. But before he died you whispered in his ear, “Raymond’s child grows in my belly, and he will rise to take everything you own.” 

You left the town, watching on in sadness as Etienne slept soundly, not knowing what fate would await you. In your bag you put rations of food, weapons, clothing and your box of letters from Raymond. His sword was snug in its scabbard at your waist and the arrow was placed in an inside pocket of your tunic. The few riding lessons you had had with Lucille and Henri would prove useful as you took one of the horses from the stables and left the village for good. 

Word had spread in the village whilst you were there, remaining away from Raymond’s family, but still listening for news, that Raymond had been killed by a mute. This mute was tall, broad and had a cross tattooed on his back. That was enough information for you to begin searching. 

You travelled far, inquiring where you could about the mute. Your sickness began, rendering you unable to travel during the first half of the day, but your resolve to see Raymond’s murderer dead was enough to keep you going. At night, lying beneath the stars or in abandoned houses, you would look upon your late husband’s letters, crying yourself to sleep. 

Finally, you got a lead. He had last been seen approaching the coast, ready to get a boat to England to move back into Ireland. You stuck to the shadows, keeping your hood up out of your face. You ate at night just before sleeping and travelled by day. 

In your pocket you fingered a small bottle which you had picked up from an apothecary. It was used during surgical interventions to paralyse parts of the body, but also used as a poison if it got into the wrong hands. An overdose could easily paralyse someone completely or slip them into a coma. 

You found him. You saw him sitting alone at a tavern, his dark eyes watching everyone as they walked through the building. You kept your hood up and walked in, keeping to the edge of the room, your eyes smouldering in anger. You would make the fucker pay! All the people you had asked for information had served their purpose well, guiding you to him. 

Being a woman may work to your advantage here, you thought. You looked across the room, through the masses of bodies, and approached him. You sat beside him, smiling and slid your hand down onto his thigh. Repulsion racked through you for touching another man who wasn’t your dearest Raymond, and more than that, this was the man who had murdered him. 

An hour later and you found yourself in one of the upper rooms of the tavern, having brought a room for the night, and you were in the arms of the mute. He was kissing you, drawing all the disgust out of you, but you were doing this for Raymond. You stopped for a moment, quickly slipping the liquid from the bottle in your pocket into the ale, and then handed him the cup. “Come and drink,” you whispered. So far and he had not noticed your slight of hand. 

He drank from the cup and moved forward to kiss you again, but suddenly stopped and collapsed to the bed. A grunt of frustration rose from him as he tried to move, his eyes wide in shock. 

Laughing, you straddled him, and tied his arms to the bed posts, making sure that he could not move one inch. “You’re probably wondering who I am,” you told him, grinning at him. He stared at you, swallowing hard, his body completely paralysed. “This will answer your question.” From your inside pocket of the tunic you wore, you pulled out the arrow. You slid the metal down his cheek, onwards to his chest, his eyes widening even further. Slowly you ripped open his shirt, looking at the scars across him. 

His body arched as you dug the metal into his thigh and twisted. Then you followed with the other thigh. Followed then by just above his chest, digging into his collarbones, each one in turn. “This is for my Raymond, you bastard!” you growled, forcing the arrow into his neck, in the exact same place that your husband had been bitten by this animal before you. 

You slipped away that night, leaving behind the bloodied and mutilated body of the mute, satisfied that your beloved had finally been avenged. 


End file.
